Heavy snow to begin falling tonight

A cold and unstable late winter storm will drop up to eight inches of snow above the 4,000-foot level in the San Diego County mountains starting late Thursday night, says the National Weather Service. But the system isn't packing heavy rains. Forecasters say areas at and near the coast will only get one-quarter to a half-inch of precipitation, which will leave the region well below normal as San Diego closes in on spring, which begins with the vernal equinox at 4:02 a.m. on March 20. San Diego's Lindbergh Field has recorded 5.01'' of rain since July 1, which is 2.92'' below average.

Forecasters say the storm could produce light, sporadic rain on Thursday morning. But the core of the system won't arrive until late Thursday night or early Friday. The rain will fall off-and-on for much of Friday, and the snow will last until late Friday night. The weather service has issued a winter storm warning for East County. It goes into effect at 10 p.m. Thursday. The snow will likely affect travel on Interstate 8, east of Alpine.

It's possible that the storm will produce scattered hail on Friday, as well as thunderstorms and water spouts.